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"It’s better to change se the world Because the pockets of Light balance the Darkness, and in soer that way You can hold a pebble in your hand, use it to create ripples in a pond You can’t hurl a boulder, and even if you could, it would displace the water and the pond would dry up"

Linda pursed her lips "I get it It’s like that Forrest Gu it wasn’t I wish the other was possible I hope so in the shadows, that it’s doable"

It is It just comes at a terrible price One that keeps that balance in place "Don’t look too hard at the shadows, unless you really want to knohat dwells there"

Speculation etched Linda’s face in the growing darkness Ruby cleared her throat Looking out toward the marsh, she let the wine she rarely drank take her to a more whimsical place "Do you know every body of water has a spirit? Even a puddle A swi pool does, too, despite the chlorine A sleek, polished kind of spirit Saltwater bodies have male spirits; freshwater have female No one knohy, but it’s said that salt water has a male spirit because he’s surrounded by female tears All the bodies of water squabble about who’s ue with the rivers connected to theue with the ocean; so on and so forth"

"What’s your opinion?" Linda raised an auht they were the ot offended and closed down In about three days, they figured out the one who handles the shit they cause was the one they couldn’t do without"

"You are a disturbing woave her a half s suit"

"He told ifted practitioner he knew Are the two of you together?"

Ruby studied the other woman "No, we’re not Do you want to be with hiuess I was a little rude, asking it straight out like that"

"Doesn’t bother me" Liar "Has he shown any interest?"

"He worked with me here for a y that co, whicha trip wire, the detonation just as fast In the space of time it took him to put a fistful of candy bars on the counter and reach for his wallet, Ruby had seen grocery clerks decide they’d give up indoor plu and chocolate for him And he never noticed his appeal, always infallibly courteous and warh to make a woman want to shoot him Or keep him chained and naked on a cot in her basement so she could ride him like a carnival ride with the "on" lever stuck in a perone there The sleeping rabid dog of her libido came fully alert She tried to fake it out, concentrated on what Linda was saying as if she were offering the formula to cure cancer

"I admit I’ve been a little intimidated by him, awed by his skill" The woman firmed her chin "I need to take the bull by the horns I’ve made him dinner before, but next time he’s here I’ll make hiet It’s been a while since un-shy The police chief in the adjoining county, Eric Wassler, got divorced a couple years back, and to be honest I’ve always had a little bit of a thing for him But I haven’t been able to make step one"

"Well, Justin hooked up with a cop and they sound pretty devoted Maybe you should give Sheriff Eric a shot You’d probably have a better relationship with hi-distance relationships suck"

Of course, Derek was technically a cop as well A sheriff of the Light With the hat and dragonskin boots, all he needed was a silver badge She should pick him up one froo back to sleep

Linda gave a little laugh "This sounds terrible, but I wasn’t seeking anything perh to know better than that But I was thinking he ive me… confidence You kno it is Every wouy who’s all the best parts of the fantasy I expectinto the starlet whose car is broken down…"

"And thus countless Penthouse Forum letters are born"

Linda snorted "I’d like to write at least one of those letters in my life, and Derek Stormwind looks like publishable material"